NATURAL GAS The Romanian state owned company
\nRomgaz has announced it completed the acquisition of shares from the American
\ncompany ExxonMobil as part of the Neptun Deep natural gas extraction project in
\nthe Black Sea. The energy minister Virgil Popescu said on a social network that
\nthe completion of the USD 1 billion transaction is an important step ahead for
\nRomania in its effort to achieve energy independence, at a difficult time for
\nthe entire Europe. Romania, which is currently the European country the least
\ndependent on Russian gas, owns large reserves in the Black Sea – around 200
\nbillion cubic meters. Most of it is in the Neptun Deep perimeter, which Romgaz
\nwill develop alongside OMV Petrom. Meanwhile, in the Midia perimeter, nearly
\n120 km off Romania’s Black Sea coast, Black Sea Oil&Gas has already began
\nextraction.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
ROMA Improving the quality of life of Romania’s
\nRoma minority, based on active citizenship, social and economic inclusion and
\nthe Roma cultural heritage is a priority for the government of Romania. This
\nmessage was conveyed by PM Nicolae Ciuc\u0103 on the Roma Holocaust Memorial Day.
\nThe foreign ministry mentioned that the suffering inflicted on the Roma in concentration
\nand extermination camps run by the Nazi and their allies during WW2 were
\nunfortunately ignored for too long by the general public. This is why the
\nforeign ministry supports national and international initiatives to promote
\nresearch and commemoration of the Roma genocide. The institution also condemns
\nhate speech against this community. The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis
\nalso pointed out in a message that stigmatizing and discriminating against minorities
\nmust be penalised harshly.On August
\n2, 1944, nearly 3,000 Roma at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp were killed by the
\nNazi regime. Overall, some 500,000 Roma people were killed in Europe during the
\nHolocaust.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
DROUGHT In Romania, the total area affected by drought has reached
\nover 190,000 hectares in 24 counties, 30,000 hectares more than the previous
\nday, the Agriculture Ministry announced. According to weather experts, temperatures
\nwill gradually rise until August 8, in most parts of the country. Moreover, the
\nDanube river flow is half the multi-annual average for the month of August. The
\nNational Waters Administration announced that the strategic water reserve in
\nthe main 40 lakes in the country is 3.19 billion cubic metres, down from 3.45
\nbillion in early July.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
COVID-19 The health minister Alexandru Rafila does not rule out a 7th pandemic wave in
\nRomania this autumn, when schools and universities resume classes. In
\nhis opinion, wearing face masks in public transportation means and closed areas
\nis critical to keeping the pandemic under control. On Tuesday over 11,600 new
\nCOVID-19 cases were reported, most of them in Bucharest and in Cluj and Timi\u015f
\ncounties. More than 4,000 COVID patients are hospitalized, of whom nearly 600
\nare children. 277 patients are in intensive care, and 38 COVID-related deaths
\nhave also been reported, including a child.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
TAIWAN U.S. House of Representatives Speaker
\nNancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday with a clear message for China. She said the
\nUS commitment to supporting Taiwan’s democracy is more important than ever.
\nNancy Pelosi’s visit, which was immediately condemned by the Chinese
\nauthorities, is the first by a US House of Representatives speaker in 25 years.
\nOn Wednesday she will have meetings with Taiwan officials. Beijing responded immediately,
\ndenouncing what it called a very dangerous attitude on the part of the US.
\nTaiwan has had its own government since the communist victory on continental
\nChina in 1949, but Beijing views it as one of its own provinces and threatens
\nto resort to force should the island proclaim its independence.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
TENNIS -
\nRomanian tennis player Simona Halep (WTA 16) qualified to the round of 16 of
\nthe Washington tournament after defeating the Moldovan Cristina Bucsa (WTA
\n123), 6-3, 7-5. Halep will be up next against the winner of the match between
\nAmerican Madison Brengle and Russian Ana Kalinskaya. Also, the Romanian-Czech
\npair Monica Niculescu\/Lucie Hradecka (WTA 250) qualified to the quarterfinals
\nafter a victory against Emma R\u0103ducanu (UK) \/Clara Tauson (Denmark), 6-4, 6-1.
\nNiculescu and Hradecka will be up next against Americans Makenna Jones\/Sloane
\nStephens. (AMP)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Click here for a roundup of local and world news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":105208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[35374,29163,29344,36927,29805,36835,36928,34950,29894,28939,29295,32165],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-106070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-covid-19","tag-drought","tag-holocaust","tag-memorial","tag-natural-gas","tag-neptun-deep","tag-pelosi","tag-roma","tag-taiwan","tag-tennis","tag-visit","tag-washington"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n